Jake RainisProfessional Hand Lettering2018-03-09T22:10:26Zhttps://jakerainis.com/feed/atom/WordPressJake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=22282018-03-09T22:10:26Z2018-03-09T21:57:31ZAt the time of this writing, we're in our third month of #52Letters; just in between the "i" and "j" weeks. If you're into blackletter like me, you might be thinking that these two weeks are going to be a little less challenging. Let's use the simplicity of these letters to our advantage and try out a technique that you might not be familiar with... stroke twisting.

]]>At the time of this writing, we’re in our third month of #52Letters; just in between the “i” and “j” weeks. If you’re into blackletter like me, you might be thinking that these two weeks are going to be a little less challenging… and the comes “l”. Trust me, I hear you! Let’s use the simplicity of these letters to our advantage and try out a technique that you might not be familiar with… stroke twisting.

This is a very similar topic to the post I wrote about angle rotation, but I wanted to demonstrate it in a different context that can drastically change the way you write any letterform.

The idea behind a twisted (multi-angle) stroke is that your pen does not stay at the same angle for the entire duration of the stroke. Instead, the angle fluctuates throughout the stroke (generally between 15º-20º above or below the “root” angle, which is usually around 40º degrees). The result is a more organic letterform with nuanced curves. You would not be able to achieve this effect otherwise because the slight pen manipulations create an intrinsic curve within your strokes.

In essence, the technique is straightforward and might appear easy when looking at the digram above. In actuality, it can be quite difficult to get the hang of if you haven’t trained your fingers to twist the pen ever so slightly mid-stroke.

Practicing Angle Manipulations

If you’re new to twisting or rotating the pen mid-stroke, then I would strongly recommend breaking the approach down into three phases of practice.

It’s worth noting that if you are already comfortable writing blackletter calligraphy with a chiseled brush, you might find this technique easier to learn with a brush (as opposed to a hard pen nib). The bristles are more forgiving and expressive. On the ther hand, if you’re more comfortable with a pen, then use that. It’s best to focus on learning one new thing at a time.

1. Loosen Up and Experimenting

The point here is to start working those finger muscles in a way that you haven’t before. You might also find it helpful to use vertical lines as guides.

2. Twist Both Ways

Once you begin to get the hang of it, start turning the pen clockwise during the second half of the stroke.

Do your best to visualize the stroke before you actually draw it out. When the stroke begins, it should gradually get narrow (turning counter-clockwise). Approximately halfway through the stroke, the line should be at its most narrow. From here, the line should get thicker (turning clockwise).

3. Introduce Quads (“Diamonds”)

Time to put the technique into practice. Stroke twists are very common in advanced Texualis (Textura) Quadrata, so let’s start there.

Begin by drawing a top quad serif (the diamonds). Next, draw a vertical line using the stroke twist technique you’ve been practicing. Finally, finish off the bottom quad.

You’ll want to pay close attention to how these strokes interact with their surrounding quads. Look for the rounded connections on the left and right sides of the quad as it meets the stem. Perfecting these is difficult, but the clean consistency it can bring to your letterforms is worth the mastering.

One final note; if your strokes are spotty here and there, just touch them up with the thin tip of your writing instrument. It’s not cheating.

Revisit Your Alphabet

Now that you’ve gotten familiar with stroke twists, you should put them into practice. Revisit each letter in the alphabet and use stroke twisting to add some new edge to your letterforms. Be patient while doing this. You’ll only get better with time.

I’m relatively new to this technique, so you’re definitely not alone. I’m really looking forward to using it in the #52Letter challenge!

And just in case you don’t know what that is…

2018 #52Letters Challenge

What better way to bring your skills to the next level than with a hardcore, in-depth challenge? In an effort to promote creativity, practice, and community, I’ve decided to pursue a new weekly challenge and I want to invite you along for the ride.

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=20902018-01-06T17:05:41Z2018-01-06T17:04:40ZI know I've already made an official announcement about the 2018 #52Letters Challenge, but I wanted I wanted to write a more in-depth post about it. Specifically, I want to touch on why I think it's the best way for you to bring your understanding and execution of the alphabet to whole new levels. And of course, if you haven't started it yet, I wanted to invite you one last time to join the movement for 2018. Obviously, you can begin this challenge at any point in time, but it's always more fun when there's other people involved!

]]>I know I’ve already made an official announcement about the 2018 #52Letters Challenge, but I wanted I wanted to write a more in-depth post about it. Specifically, I want to touch on why I think it’s the best way for you to bring your understanding and execution of the alphabet to whole new levels. And of course, if you haven’t started it yet, I wanted to invite you one last time to join the movement for 2018. Obviously, you can begin this challenge at any point in time, but it’s always more fun when there’s other people involved!

Wait… What Are We Talking About?

Head on over to 52-letters.com to check out the official announcement. #52Letters is a year-long challenge in which you devote an entire week of focus on one letter:

One letter a week for 52 weeks (the whole year)

Weeks 1 through 26: lowercase a through z

Weeks 27 through 52: uppercase A through Z

Share your progress online with the hashtag #52letters

So week one is lowercase a, week two is lowercase b, and so on all the way up to week 27 where we start the alphabet over with the uppercase letters.

Those are the only guidelines. It doesn’t matter if you’re a calligraphy artist, a hand lettering artist, or just someone who wants to improve their penmanship. I’ll personally be focusing my efforts on blackletter calligraphy. If you practice many forms of calligraphy or lettering styles, feel free to explore as much as you’re comfortable with.

Why a Letter Per Week?

Gather around friends, it’s story time. Check out this image:

See this style of a? The kind that has the small bowl with the extended horizontal arm? The one you probably didn’t learn in school because you were taught the simpler version of lowercase a (like the prior image above)? Yeah… I HATE this a. I’ve always had so much trouble getting it to look right. And that’s not the only style of a letter I’ve had trouble with.

Whenever I encounter these difficult letterforms in my practice, I think to myself that I should just dedicate hours on end to practicing those tough letters over and over again until I master them. Then, and only then, I’ll never have to struggle with them again.

It was this situation I would constantly find myself in that prompted me to start #52Letters. I know I’m not alone. We all go through this. Maybe we don’t struggle with the same letters specifically, but there’s not denying that each of us are more comfortable with certain letters over others.

Let’s get comfortable with all of them at a casual pace.

Additional Benefits

When we each take a week to fine-tune our abilities with a certain letter, we also have ample time to explore other variations and nuances. This is another aspect I was looking forward to. Beyond the overarching style of this letter a that I struggled with personally, there are also a countless other combinations of strokes that I can put together to make it unique. The bowl can be rounded with one stroke, or it can be pointed with two. Same with the stem. I can use hairlines to connect the middle bowl to the stem there several different stroke variations I can use to render the horizontal arm. The opportunities are literally exponential and exploring them are a blast.

And let’s not forget the aspect of community and sharing you work. If you’re on Instagram, tag your work with #52Letters and be sure to follow the hashtag to see other artist’s work. This is a great way meet others and find inspiration!

So there you have it. One week per letter — ample time to practice and explore without rushing to keep up with other life obligations.

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=20652017-12-29T22:26:10Z2017-12-29T22:20:48ZI have just completed a goal that I set out accomplish two years ago: publishing a blog post weekly for 2 years (and I never missed a week!). I’m can’t believe it’s been 2 years. It’s an incredible feeling. It certainly wasn’t easy, but I’ve learned more about commitment (and calligraphy!) than words could ever […]

]]>I have just completed a goal that I set out accomplish two years ago: publishing a blog post weekly for 2 years (and I never missed a week!). I’m can’t believe it’s been 2 years. It’s an incredible feeling. It certainly wasn’t easy, but I’ve learned more about commitment (and calligraphy!) than words could ever explain. I’ve done recaps for each year here (2016) and here (2017). As you can see, great things happen when you show up everyday.

2 Years of Blogging

Since this is my last post of 2017, I wanted to provide some insights into what I’ve learned from blogging and what 2018 holds.

The Ups

I set out blogging with several of overarching goals in mind:

To help others aspiring artists develop in the craft of lettering & calligraphy

To challenge myself by developing a consistent habit of content output

To build an audience around my calligraphy

I would say that I’ve definitely accomplished each goal. I approached almost every post with the intent of inspiring or teaching. When I started blogging, I certainly didn’t know everything about all of these topics. That was one of the beautiful parts of blogging; coming up with an idea that was often based on someone else’s questions and learning how to answer it. The topics on this blog are pretty niche, but there was still an excellent reception from a growing audience of artists and calligraphy enthusiasts.

Another aspect worth mentioning was the year of monthly artist spotlights. Not only was it fun to share someone else’s story, but speaking with these incredible artists was eye-opening. I’m grateful for the opportunities I had to learn from inspiring artists from all over the world.

The Downs

One of the most rewarding aspects was the rigid habit that came along with writing and publishing weekly. However, this habit often felt like a burden. I developed systems to plan my content (and often create it) ahead of time so that I wasn’t always down to the wire. However, life happens. Writers block, lack of inspiration, illness, work, holidays, etc. These are all things we struggle with and managing such a large commitment on top of everything else can be overwhelming.

Perhaps the biggest downside would be the several hours of free time I’d have in one week where I’d ideally like to be creating. Instead, it was the only time I had to prepare content for an upcoming post. In that regard, it would stifle my creativity and practice time.

One other big trap I found myself falling into is spending so much time creating content that I had no time (or motivation) to promote it. Loyal audience members would consume that content but how would it ever reach someone else if I’m not passionately plugging it on other channels and spending the time necessary to connect with other artists looking to learn? I was spending 95% of my time creating and 5% marketing it when really it should be the other way around.

You see these bloggers putting out fresh content weekly (sometimes daily) and promoting the hell out of it. And they make it look so easy. In retrospect, I could do that too if I had no other big obligations in life. But I work. I have a relationship. I have a social life. I cook and clean. I also have other hobbies. Without sacrificing those things, which I have no intention of doing, that sort of habitual commitment isn’t realistic.

What’s Next?

I never planned to fully stop once I hit my 2 year goal and I certainly didn’t make any promises to myself that I would keep going at the same rate. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what 2018 looks like in terms of a balance between content and creativity. I’ve developed some insanely disciplined habits over the past 2 years, writing hundreds of thousands of words. There’s plenty of content that I’m really proud of. One thing I’m not proud of is how little calligraphy I’ve done recently.

Here’s what you can expect from me in 2018:

Priority number one is creativity. I’ll be sharing more work and challenging myself to improve on new levels.

I’ll be diversifying my content output with more video. Look for more of that on my Instagram and YouTube.

This blog isn’t going anywhere. I won’t be publishing as often or on a rigid schedule, but you can still expect content periodically.

Also…

The 2018 #52Letters Alphabet Challenge

What better way to bring your skills to the next level than with a hardcore, in-depth challenge? In an effort to promote creativity, practice, and community, I’ve decided to pursue a new weekly challenge and I want to invite you along for the ride.

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=20232017-12-19T23:05:50Z2017-12-21T12:00:49ZAt the beginning of 2016, I decided to start taking my goals *very seriously*. I didn't want to look back on another year disappointed in what I hadn't accomplished. I know too many people that just live their life year-to-year without doing anything to improve their skills, lifestyle, or overall happiness.

I promised myself I'd close my 2016 calendar with a 2016 Year in Review. In that review, I listed off the biggest highlights and accomplishments from the year. It's hard to believe yet another year has passed since then... and on the other hand, it feels like it was forever ago.

]]>At the beginning of 2016, I decided to start taking my goals very seriously. I didn’t want to look back on another year disappointed in what I hadn’t accomplished. I know too many people that just live their life year-to-year without doing anything to improve their skills, lifestyle, or overall happiness.

I promised myself I’d close my 2016 calendar with a 2016 Year in Review. In that review, I listed off the biggest highlights and accomplishments from the year. It’s hard to believe yet another year has passed since then… and on the other hand, it feels like it was forever ago.

But like it or not, it’s almost 2018!

What I Accomplished in 2017

My primary focus for 2016 was to develop a foundation for myself as a professional hand-lettering artist. This involved tons of audience building, client work, networking, and writing… countless hours of writing. This was a very time-consuming set of commitments on top of a full-time day job.

As the beginning of 2017 drew near, I made the decision to pivot away from hand-lettering client work in the interest of focusing on calligraphy as an art form. This was a particularly difficult decision to make at the time. I had dedicated hundreds of hours to building a personal brand around something I felt like I was about to abandon. But in retrospect, I never would have reached this point had I not put in all that time.

Just start.

That was the biggest takeaway. You’ll become paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong decision to the point where you won’t make a decision at all.

Fast forward to 2017 where my goals revolved around taking my personal brand and artwork to the next level off of a the foundation and audience I had already built. Here they are in no particular order.

Started a New Day Job

This will be my only non-calligraphy related accomplishment. Yes, I’ve had many personal accomplishments outside of calligraphy, but this is perhaps the most pivotal. For those that don’t know, I’m not a full-time calligrapher. I’d love to be one day, but it doesn’t pay all of the bills just yet!

In August, I left my role as the Director of UI Development for an agency I’ve been working at for 6 years. While leaving was a little bittersweet, I had accepted a new position at a small start-up out of Oakland, CA. So far, business is booming and we’re doing some incredible work. I’m beyond psyched for the opportunity and the continued growth we’re planning to experience in coming years. Not to mention that spending some quality time in California is a pretty sweet perk (especially for this Boston native)!

Website Overhaul

When I finally found clarity around my brand identity-crisis, my website needed some serious updates. I updated the majority of the back end and rewrote all my content to better position myself as an artist instead of someone providing a professional service. Then I gave the UX and design an overhaul and added e-store capabilities. My first goal was to begin selling products.

Published a 100 Page Fraktur Workbook

Any sort of formalized learning material surrounding blackletter calligraphy is seemingly non-existant. Many folks were reaching out to me seeking advice on how they could learn the craft themselves. This is what prompted me to create my Fraktur Workbook. This book contains everything an aspiring calligraphy artist will need to master the Fraktur hand.

Wrote a 4-Part Fraktur Mini-course

To support the release of my book, I published a 4-part mini-course that covers the history of Fraktur, what differentiates it from other styles of blackletter, and hands-on instructional information (including free printable guides) for artists to learn how to write the alphabet themselves.

Launched an Online Store

I’m not selling prints or canvases quite yet — but my new online store houses products to help calligraphy artists. My most popular items have been my Procreate brush sets. I spent weeks researching and experimenting to create the best blackletter brushes out there. I know this because I’ve literally bought every blacketter set out there to date. I’ve heard great reviews from hundreds (literally) of satisfied customers.

Accepted for Typism 4 and Several Other Books

It’s been a dream of mine to be featured in something as widely distributed as the Typism books. Typism 4 drops this march and will feature one of my favorite works. Stay tuned!

I also have some other features in future books and publications coming up this year.

5X’d my Instagram Following

Like I’ve said, the number of followers you have doesn’t matter as much as the quality. I recently hit 10,000 followers and while some of them might be bots or porn stars, I’ve been able to meet hundreds of new artists this year via Instagram. Instagram is still an incredible platform, even after all of these years!

Turned Down Dozens of Clients

To some, this might seem like the opposite of an accomplishment. But I was firm when I decided to begin turning down client work. This involved rejecting clients like Disney, several major clothing brands, 2 famous country musicians I’ve never heard of, and about 5,000 church organizations.

Moral of the story; if you’re serious about wanting to do something for yourself, you need to say no to other people.

12 Artist Spotlights

In the beginning of 2017, I decided to try something new. I wanted to reach out to the artists that I’ve been inspired by and ask them about their work. Having a dialogue with a fellow artist you don’t actually know personally, yet still have so much in common with, is incredibly encouraging. I decided to repurpose these conversations in into a medium that I could share with my blog readers. This became a fun monthly ritual that has benefited everyone involved.

2-Year Anniversary of Blog & Newsletter

This post marks my 103rd consecutive weekly blog post and is a continuation of a goal that I had set for myself in the beginning of 2016. I wanted to produce regular content uninterrupted for 2 years. And I did. It was NOT easy, but I learned so much and have developed some solid writing habits. Who would have thought there’d be so much to say on such a niche topic?

Onward to 2018!

I hope you had a great year. I’d love to hear about your accomplishments with your art, so feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to chat. But regardless of how you did this year, don’t let it stop you from doing bigger things next year!

I’m still in the process of fleshing out my 2018 goals. I have some exciting plans that I’ll be sharing very soon, but one thing I can tell you is that I won’t be writing as extensively for the blog each week. I’ll be focusing on other publishing mediums (way more video!) as well as putting some new habits in place to progress my calligraphy skills. But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere!

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=19802017-12-09T20:48:49Z2017-12-14T12:00:48ZToday, I want to show you how you can create gradient calligraphy in Photoshop with just several easy steps. This is a great way to colorize your work digitally with a nice realistic gradient overlay. I've seen a number of artists do this with their work on Instagram. I thought it looked really neat so I figured I'd give it a shot myself. Turns out it's quite easy, so I wanted to share the steps so you can do it too. The only thing you'll need is Photoshop, a camera, and the piece of calligraphy you want to manipulate.

]]>Today, I want to show you how you can create gradient calligraphy in Photoshop with just several easy steps. This is a great way to colorize your work digitally with a nice realistic gradient overlay. I’ve seen a number of artists do this with their work on Instagram. I thought it looked really neat so I figured I’d give it a shot myself. Turns out it’s quite easy, so I wanted to share the steps so you can do it too. The only thing you’ll need is Photoshop, a camera, and the piece of calligraphy you want to manipulate.

The Final Product

Step 1: Photograph Your Calligraphy

Pick a piece you’ve done recently and photograph it. You don’t need any sort of fancy DSLR camera. I took this photo with my iPhone and uploaded it to my computer. Nothing special! Just try to get the focus as sharp as possible so that the letters are easier to isolate when we import it to Photoshop.

iPhone Photo

Step 2: Enhance in Photoshop

Bring your image into Photoshop. Before we add the gradient effect, adjust the image contrast as necessary. The goal here is to have as much contrast between the letters and the paper as possible without blowing out the image. I’ve used the Levels adjustment to make the darks darker and the lights lighter.

Adjusting the contrast in Photoshop

Step 3: Isolate the Letters

Select the Magic Wand tool from the menu on the left. Along the top utility bar, you’ll see options to configure this tool. The two you want to adjust will be Tolerance and Contiguous. How you set your tolerance will depend on the complexity of the image, so you might need to play around here. In this example, I’ve set it to 50. Make sure Contiguous is unchecked. This will make sure you capture all of the inner details of your composition. Now, click on the page in your photograph. This should create a selection that captures your entire page. If it doesn’t, keep playing with the Tolerance setting.

Selecting the page

Step 4: Create a Layer Mask

With your selection in place, click the Add layer mask button on the bottom of the layers panel. This should alter your layer so the only thing you are able to see is the page itself with the calligraphy and background (if applicable) cut out of it. Add a layer below this and color it in and you should be able to see the color underneath through your layer mask.

Creating a layer mask

Step 5: Edit Your Layer Mask

If you have area around the photo like I do in my example, you’ll want to fix the mask. In my situation, I have the table in the background behind my page being masked. To correct this, click on the mask next to your layer and select white as your foreground color. Next, select the brush tool and begin “painting” the area where your background is hidden. This should start to reveal your background as you reduce the mask area with your brush.

Fixing the layer mask

Step 6: Layer the Image to Make More Realistic

Almost there! This looks pretty good, but because of the solid colors showing through, it doesn’t look very real. You’ll notice in my original picture that you can see the ink blending as I overlay strokes. Let’s bring that back.

First, duplicate the layer you’re working with and place it directly beneath. When you duplicate it, it will carry over the layer mask with it. Delete the layer mask on the lower layer. Then, adjust the opacity of this layer so that it’s mostly transparent, but still visible enough to let the stroke textures show through the masked layer above it.

Adjusting the subsequent layer

Working with White on Black

This effect can be achieved via the exact same process if your calligraphy piece is done with white ink on black paper. Just make sure you adjust the contrast accordingly to get the paper as dark as possible.

Before

After

Video Demonstration

If you didn’t quite follow, check out this video tutorial to see it done in real time:

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=19172017-12-07T01:06:06Z2017-12-07T12:03:07ZWelcome to my final artist spotlight of 2017! I can't believe it's been a year. I was just looking back at all of the amazing artists I've had the pleasure of meeting. It's been such an honor to get a glimpse into their lives. Today I would like to introduce you to Dark (AKA Darksnooopy).

]]>Welcome to my final artist spotlight of 2017! I can’t believe it’s been a year. I was just looking back at all of the amazing artists I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. It’s been such an honor to get a glimpse into their lives. Today I would like to introduce you to Dark (AKA Darksnooopy).

Dark is a calligraphy-inspired street artist from Paris, France. I met Dark on Instagram a few months back and recently learned that we have some mutual friends in the calligraphy community. Small world!

Dark’s work is an expressive blend of abstract calligraphy, street art, and sometimes a little bit of Snoopy (you know — the iconic Peanuts character)!

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me! Would you mind speaking about your background and how you got into art and calligraphy? It appears that you are also a very active street artist?

It’s a pleasure mate! Ok, so I began to draw by seeing a friend always making graffiti everywhere, and that gave me the desire to do it too. Then, after a few years, I started to involve myself in graffiti even more and began to go in some hidden spots to practice with spray cans and draw some snoops and graffiti on walls. Soon after, I met a calligrapher in my design school. I worked with him for a few months and I realized that I wanted to do more with calligraphy and to find my style by mixing calligraphy with some design and graffiti figures to make it personal and appealing to everyone. So I turned it into artworks, in the streets of the world or in my lab and I’ve worked as much as possible since then.

Where are you located and what is the art scene line there. Are you close with other creatives that help drive your creativity?

I’m from Paris and I still live here. This is a beautiful city and art is something really important for French people so this is a really good place for me to practice my art. I work sometimes with some street artists’ friends, making some collaborations and talking about some artistic topics or sharing tips. This is really good to improve my creativity.

Mural collaboration by Dark and Codex-Urbanus

I’m a huge fan of your abstract calligraphy work. What inspired you to begin pursuing this style?

As far as I remember, I’ve always been a typography lover. This is something really fascinating and attractive to me. Already when I was making only graffiti, I was searching for better letter forms. When I started calligraphy, I wanted to create a multicultural and personal universe by mixing different calligraphy shapes, letters, or numbers coming for everywhere, and in order to gather people from everywhere. So there aren’t some words or sentences in my works (expect when I hide some inside).

I love that Snoopy makes a subtle appearance in some of your pieces! Are there any reasons for this or are you just a big Peanuts fan?

I’m not particularly a big Peanuts fan but I love Snoopy’s life philosophy, and he is cool to draw and easily adaptable to what I want. I can easily insert him in some of my work and see all the reactions he can create in people’s mind. Moreover, I’m a huge fan of cartoons, so this is a little homage to one thing that completely ran my childhood.

What would you say is your favorite project that you’ve done?

For now, particularly this year, I’ve done a lot a wonderful and really interesting projects such as a Street Art Festival for children that have some language problems or an event where I made some live body painting on two models and a live canvas. I would say that all the projects are really cool and help me to realize my passion while developing my technique, so I enjoy them all as much as I can and I hope things will continue this way for a long time.

It’s obvious that you’re familiar with a very diverse set of tools. Spray paint, chalk, markers, ink… what are your favorites?

In fact, I love to practice with some different tools and find some new amazing ways to create new shapes or textures to share. I like to be continuously in contact with new materials and techniques to find some new ways to work, and improve myself in different styles to diversify my art. But paint brush and acrylic markers are still my favorites. The bigger they are the more I like to work.

I just found out recently that we have a mutual friend (Valentin Dragomirescu). You’re going to be a part of his big calligraphy book project, right? Do you have any other big aspirations you’re working towards with your artwork? And if so, do you mind sharing?

Yes, I’ve been in contact with Valentin for a few weeks, and yes, I will be part of his calligraphy book project. Art is something really important for me and I like to be continuously immersed in it, so I have a lot of inspirations from everywhere and every artistic movements, particularly Suprematism & Contemporary art. Moreover, N.S.Meulman and all the calligraffiti artists are really fascinating for me.

What can the world expect from you in the next year/couple years?

I would like to continue to do what I love the most and share good vibes with everyone in this world.

You can follow Dark (AKA Darksnooopy) on Instagram via (@darksnooopy).

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=19092017-11-30T00:35:13Z2017-11-30T12:00:34ZI'm excited to announce the launch of my latest product — an extensive set of calligraffiti brushes for the Procreate iPad Pro app! For the past several months, I've been building and refining a versatile set of brushes that enable you to create expressive blackletter-inspired calligraffiti.

]]>I’m excited to announce the launch of my latest product — an extensive set of calligraffiti brushes for the Procreate iPad Pro app! For the past several months, I’ve been building and refining a versatile set of brushes that enable you to create expressive blackletter-inspired calligraffiti.

When you search for Procreate brushes, you won’t find any shortage of options. However, because of the chiseled nature of blackletter, there aren’t a ton of options in the blackletter realm. I purchased many sets from various online marketplaces and they were adequate — but I was after something better. The problem was that something better didn’t actually exist. This is what inspired me to create my first brush set: Blackletter Professional Procreate Brushes. These brushes have been a hit for hundreds of digital calligraphy artists. I use them every time I work with blackletter in Procreate.

This past year, I have become enamored by calligraffiti — a blend of abstract calligraphy fused with modern street art. If you follow my work at all, you’ve certainly seen a fair amount of my pieces. However, recreating this style in Procreate was incredibly difficult due to technological restraints. Unlike a paper that we can draw on from any angle we desire, the iPad only has 90º orientations. This makes circular calligrams impossible (until now!).

I was determined to find a way to create calligraffiti-style compositions on the iPad and I’m excited to share the results!

What’s Inside?

This new calligraffiti brush-set is loaded with a total 27 unique brushes as well as a circular calligram template.

Solid and Textural Angled Brushes

Use 6 unique types of chiseled brushes at a variety of angles to create calligraffiti compositions like this:

I’ve spent many hours studying patterns and methodology when it comes to constructing compositions like this in my own work as well as the work of other artists. I’ve found the most common strokes are typically broken down to a mix of the following angles:

0º

10º

45º

90º

135º

175º

This brush set includes each of these angles in 2 variations. A solid chisel and a textured, pressure-sensitive chisel.

The solid variations of these angles are great for creating bold thick strokes whereas the textured, pressure-sensitive versions are perfect for scenarios where you would want something a little more gestural and expressive.

Grunge Textures

Add depth and character to your compositions with 6 different grunge brushes.

These brushes can be used to create rough-looking background textures as well as layered splatters on top of the compositions. Alternatively, they can be used reductively as an eraser to give subsequent layers a worn, weathered look.

Circular Calligram System

I saved the best part for last. Perhaps you’ve thought about how nice it would be to create circular calligrams in Procreate only to recall the fact that your brush direction is limited to the two 90º orientations of the iPad. Using the new calligram system I’ve developed in conjunction with the iPads orientation, you can now create all the circular compositions you want! See it in action:

Start by importing the calligram template image into your Procreate canvas and then resize/re-orient it to your liking. You’ll notice the circular template contains slices, each containing the letter A, B, C, or D. Using the Calligram A brush, fill in the A slice with your work. When you get to the vertical edge of the slice between A and B, switch to the Calligram B brush. Continue this until you’ve filled up slices A, B, C, and D with their corresponding calligram brushes.

Next, rotate your iPad 90º (ensure your orientation lock setting is inactive). The Procreate interface will rotate but your canvas will not. Switch back to the Calligram A brush in fill in the next slice labeled A. Repeat these steps until your circle is full!

Each calligram brush comes in both a solid chisel and a textured, pressure-sensitive chisel.

Interested?

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=18612017-11-11T21:42:16Z2017-11-23T12:00:01ZLately, I've seen a number of cool videos where artists put an invisible layer of water down in the shape of a letterform, then drop ink into it. When the ink hits the water, the pigment spreads out rapidly and creates a neat gradient effect. It's also incredibly satisfying to watch! I've been experimenting with this approach and I've discovered a clever series of techniques that will produce nice marble effect in your letters. I've been looking forward to sharing it here on the blog.

]]>Lately, I’ve seen a number of cool videos where artists put an invisible layer of water down in the shape of a letterform, then drop ink into it. When the ink hits the water, the pigment spreads out rapidly and creates a neat gradient effect. It’s also incredibly satisfying to watch! I’ve been experimenting with this approach and I’ve discovered a clever series of techniques that will produce nice marble effect in your letters. I’ve been looking forward to sharing it here on the blog.

Setting Up Your Workspace

Creating this nice marble effect is actually quite easy. It just requires a little patience and the right tools. Here’s what you’ll need:

Inks: The possibilities here are endless. In this example, I’m using red, orange, yellow, white, and a dark teal. But you can use whatever you want. I’d recommend having 2 semi-analogous colors (colors that are next to or near each other on the color wheel), a white, and then a color that is on the other side of the color wheel. In other words, you could have 2 lighter shades, white, and a darker shade.

Chiseled Writing Tool: In this example, I’m using an Automatic pen, but you can also used a chiseled brush. If you’re not after gothic letterforms, you can use a calligraphy nib or brush. However, this effect works best with gothic letterforms due to their thick bodies.

Eye Dropper and/or Separate Brush: You’ll use these to incrementally layer inks on top of each other. I would recommend the dropper for ease of use, but you can also use a brush. I like to use both; the dropper to apply the ink and the brush to move it around once its been applied.

Paper: The thicker the better. We’re going to be layering here. If you use thin paper, the ink will eventually bleed and/or warp the paper.I’d recommend a nice watercolor paper or a thick multi-media sheet that can hold wet media well.

Paper Towels (Optional): These are useful for soaking up accumulated ink and creating texture. More on this shortly. They’re also great for spills — if you’re like me.

Water: I would highly recommend 2 vessels. Keep one vessel for cleaning your pens and brushes, and the other that you only dip clean pens and brushes into. This way, you have a dedicated cleaning vessel which will inevitably become tinted with washed pigment and a vessel for perfectly clear water to be laid down on the paper.

Ruler (Optional): I like to use rulers to help plan my compositions.

Getting Comfortable with the Medium

Before you dive in and go crazy, I’d recommend playing around on some scrap paper as a warm-up. This will give you a good feel for the behavior of your inks as well as how liberally you need to be applying water given the rate of absorption by the paper.

Set yourself up in a well-lit area and begin by dipping your chiseled instrument into the water and creating an invisible letter. If you’re having trouble seeing the letter, you might need to lean at some more extreme angles to see the light refract off of the wet surface of your letterform.

Using your eye dropper or brush, drop some ink into your invisible wet stroke and watch the ink spread!

Do this a couple of times. You’ll want to get a solid understanding of how much water you need to load into your writing instrument. If you use too little, the line will dry quickly and prevent your ink from spreading. If you use too much, the edges of your letterform will look less sharp. Find a happy medium with enough water to not dry right away, but no more.

Creating the Effect

Time for the real thing! Lay down your letterform and begin dropping in ink. If you find that the ink isn’t making its way to the edges of your thinner strokes, use your pen or brush to tease the water/ink mixture to the boundaries of your stroke.

In the above photo, I’ve dropped in a fair amount of red and orange with a couple hints of yellow. Once you’ve saturated your letterform by adding a couple of colors, you’ll begin to see the lighter colors disappear into the darker colors. This is where our paper towel comes in.

Wrap a layer or two of paper towel around your index finger and gently dab the saturated areas of the letterform, soaking them up into the paper towel. Repeat this with a fresh part of the paper towel until you’ve soaked up the majority of the excess ink. Be careful not to press too hard as this will push excess ink outside of the boundaries of your letterform.

Next, add the white.

The addition of white will begin to reveal the foundation of our marble structure. However, if you’re finding that the white is quickly disappearing into the other colors, it’s because you didn’t collect enough excess ink with a paper towel. No worries — just keep dabbing with paper towels until the white begins to stick.

When the white becomes more prominent, you’re ready for the darker color(s).

Once again, I used teal ink. And you can see in the photo above that the teal gets warped into the colors, almost becoming a golden, rusty tone. The dark color doesn’t dominate too much here… instead it brings out other tones from the previously applied colors.

This is all about having fun and experimenting. Different colors, ink brands, and consistencies will all yield different results.

When You’re Done…

Let it dry! This ink will take a while to dry and you want to avoid moving your piece at any cost. If you’re not careful, the ink will dribble outside of your letterform as you tilt the surface. This will ruin your piece. Another way to ruin your piece is by blowing on it. If you blow too hard, the ink will spider off in different directions. Not cool — unless of course you’re doing it on purpose. Just be patient and let it dry.

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=18332017-10-31T01:35:15Z2017-11-16T12:00:54ZMost, if not all, of the traditional calligraphy work you come across is done on a flat (0º) baseline. From an economic and utilitarian standpoint, this makes complete sense. It's easier to read and and makes the best use of real-estate on a page (which is almost always rectangular). As an artist, I like to challenge conventions and lately I've been experimenting with slanted calligraphy to add an entirely new dynamic to my compositions. In this post, I'll show you how to do the same with your work!

]]>Most, if not all, of the traditional calligraphy work you come across is done on a flat (0º) baseline. From an economic and utilitarian standpoint, this makes complete sense. It’s easier to read and and makes the best use of real-estate on a page (which is almost always rectangular). As an artist, I like to challenge conventions and lately I’ve been experimenting with slanted calligraphy to add an entirely new dynamic to my compositions. In this post, I’ll show you how to do the same with your work!

The Inspiration

Hand lettering, which is an entirely different school of thought than calligraphy enjoys the use of a variety of non-traditional composition treatments. Lettering artists push the boundaries of letterforms to give their pieces organic life. While maintaining true to the fundamental aspects of language, they tastefully break the rules of typography. This wasn’t always the case when it came to calligraphy. Calligraphy is an art in its own right, but perhaps not as widely celebrated as such until more recently.

Though calligraphy dates back countless years, it excites me to see it continually evolve and develop further into a modern art form. It’s aspects like this that inspire me to try new things and share them with fellow calligraphy enthusiasts.

Slanted Compositions

Okay, enough of the philosophical stuff, let’s cut to the chase. What we’re doing here is quite simple in essence. Consider the following diagram:

If you’ve practiced blackletter calligraphy before, you probably know what you’re looking at. It’s 2 spaced out lines that each consist of a descender line, a baseline, an x-height line, and an ascender line. Additionally, there are vertical guidelines throughout. These can be useful to help reinforce straight downstrokes. The ratio we’re using here is 2:4:2 (2 parts descender, 4 part x-height, 2 parts ascender). If this sounds like another language to you, refer to my post on calligraphy guides.

To illustrate the system behind a slanted composition, here’s an altered version of the above system:

Essentially, all we’ve done here is slant the horizontal guides. However, it’s important to note that the vertical guides still remain at a 90º angle.

We’ll follow this same pattern with our letterforms. In other words, horizontal strokes will slant at the new angle we’ve established while downstrokes (like stems) will remain vertical at a 90º angle. This subtle warping adds a unique element of character the letterforms and in the end, you’ll have a sharp-looking composition.

You might find it a little more difficult to properly center your words in the case of a multi-line composition. I wrote a post about a system you can use to center your calligraphy that you might find helpful. Centering is difficult as it is, but doing it on a slant is even harder. Keep in mind that your letters will probably be more narrow in the slanted context, so you’ll need to take this into account when plotting out subsequent lines.

Flourish Opportunities

Traditionally, flourishes were used carefully as to not obscure the letters themselves. This would result in legibility. However, in the spirit of pushing the boundaries of an art form, what better time to enhance your composition with some flourishes? Fortunately, these slanted compositions lend themselves well to decorative ornaments.

Ascenders and descenders present opportunities to fill in negative space. Try going crazy with some underlines, filigrees, and other embellishments!

]]>0Jake Rainishttps://jakerainis.com/?p=18042017-11-09T16:43:37Z2017-11-09T12:00:04ZBack when I first got into calligraphy and hand-lettering, my mother gave me a woodburning kit as a gift. I unwrapped the gift and saw this strange apparatus. I had no idea what to do with it! I had never even heard of pyrography. When I first tried my hand, I found it frustratingly difficult. A couple years (and burns on my fingers) later, it's something I've finally gotten the hang of and I really enjoy working with it. Today, I'm going to show you how to begin creating pyrographic calligraphy of your own!

Woodburning, also known as "Pyrography" (get it? pyro?) is an ancient form of art that dates back centuries. Quite simply, it's the act of burning a mark into something in a controllable manner. Most commonly, wood is the canvas medium. However, it can also be done on leather or even hard-shelled gourds!

]]>Back when I first got into calligraphy and hand-lettering, my mother gave me a woodburning kit as a gift. I unwrapped the gift and saw this strange apparatus. I had no idea what to do with it! I had never even heard of pyrography. When I first tried my hand, I found it frustratingly difficult. A couple years (and burns on my fingers) later, it’s something I’ve finally gotten the hang of and I really enjoy working with it. Today, I’m going to show you how to begin creating pyrographic calligraphy of your own!

Woodburning, also known as “Pyrography” (get it? pyro?) is an ancient form of art that dates back centuries. Quite simply, it’s the act of burning a mark into something in a controllable manner. Most commonly, wood is the canvas medium. However, it can also be done on leather or even hard-shelled gourds!

The Tawny Eagle by Davide Della Noce

The White Horse by Stefania Mante

Sounds dangerous and difficult. It can be both. But with some precaution and patience, you can get started for cheap and begin creating beautiful pyrographic calligraphy of your own.

The Tools

A basic woodburning kit is quite simple. It’s basically a soldering iron. It consists of a cylindrical, pen-like, structure that you hold. Inside of it is a heating element. The “eraser” end of the woodburner has a chord that plugs into the wall. Using the electricity to generate the heat, the heat transfers through the pen and heats the “writing” end.

Because the heat required to burn is so high, the body of the woodburner is thicker than that of a pen. This is to protect your hand from burning, but it makes the tool a little more difficult to control — at least compared to a regular pen.

Given the simplicity, they’re very inexpensive. This $20 woodburner comes with a stand, stencils, a variety of tips, and the woodburner itself.

Tips? Yes! This is one of the coolest thing about woodburning. The heating element at the end allows you to screw in a wide variety of soldering tips. Each tip will burn the wood a different way. Some are narrow and sharp (like a pencil tip), which will give you thin, fine lines. Some are more broad and rounded, which are great for wider but still precise lines. Others are much broader and flat, which are great for filling in backgrounds or wide areas. There are even stamp-like tips that allow you to apply shapes!

Personally, my favorite type of tip is the chisel tip, as it works well for blackletter calligraphy.

Most kit will come with at least a couple tips, but you can also purchase wider varieties separately. Just do a quick amazon search to get a sense of everything available.

Safety

You’re working with high temperatures, so you’ll need to be careful not to burn yourself. Chances are it will happen sooner or later, but you should always be mindful when the woodburner is powered, particularly if you’re using it indoors. Here are a couple of tips:

When not in use, make sure the woodburner is unplugged. When you’re done, make sure it cools down before you put it away.

If you take a break and want to leave the woodburner on, make sure you rest it on its stand in a place where it won’t get knocked over.

Avoid any situation where it could come into contact with anything flammable (like paper). Let’s not burn your house down, okay?

If you want to change the tip mid-use, you MUST power it off and let it cool down first — otherwise you’ll burn your hand. I’ve impatiently used metal pliers to change out the tip, but you’ll scratch and damage them if you’re not careful.

A piece of wood can have many different qualities. It can be knotty or… not? It can be hard or soft. It can be smooth or grainy. It can be dark or light. Adequately soft, smooth, light wood is the best for obvious reasons. Soft because it will burn quicker. Smooth so you’re not fighting the texture of knots or bumps. Light so you can see your work. Fortunately, there is craft wood specifically sold for woodburning. These woods are typically basswood.

Don’t use any pressure treated, chemically treated, or stained wood. When you burn safe wood, it creates a nice woodfire smell. This is harmless. But if you burn treated wood, you’re breathing in these chemicals and that is not good.

An Example Pyrographic Calligraphy Project

My girlfriend recently bought me a bunch of these little balsa wood coffins from a craft store thinking I could decorate them and then gift or sell them. I thought about spray painting some and decorating them with blackletter or calligraphy. Then it occurred to me that it would probably be even cooler if I burned them. And that’s what inspired this blog post!

Before beginning, I like to check the wood for splinters and uneven bumps or graininess in the surface. These are all pretty common, so have some sandpaper handy and sand down any questionable areas.

If you’re not confident enough to woodburn freehand (I’m sure as hell not), you can lightly outline your artwork with pencil as a guide. I’d recommend using the softest graphite you can fine. Just be careful not to press too hard or else your sketch will be permanently etched. After you’re finished, you can erase these guides (or sand them off).

For blackletter calligraphy, I like to use General’s flat sketch pencils. If you widdle these down carefully, you can get a nice flat chisel — perfect for gothic letterforms.

The woodburner generally takes a few minutes to heat up, so I screw my chisel tip in and plug it in first. Then I get started with my sketching. In these example, I’m going to do a nice abstract calligraffiti pattern.

Woodburning requires patience. Depending on the wood, getting an adequately dark burn on each stroke takes time (and sometimes a second pass). Even on softer woods, it still takes longer than it would with a pen or brush on paper. Because of this, I like to set aside a good chunk of dedicated time and take breaks in between.

Pretty cool, right? This piece took about an hour. If you’re working on something bigger, it could take multiple days. That’s okay! Power off the woodburner when you’re tired and come back later.

That’s all there is to it! I hope you’re inspired to try it out for yourself. Unfortunately, you don’t see much Pyrographic calligraphy out there. Hopefully, we can change that! I’d love to see what you create. Be sure to tag me in the post or shoot me an email!